San Antonio Spurs Titles run: Most underrated in the history?

[alko]

San Antonio Spurs did have their famous time period with many titles.

Im not such a hardcore NBA fan, but i follow this league. Now and also that years i have (had) such feelings, that their titles are not so much glorified like it was for example by Lakers, Heat ...
Or it is only my feeling?

Click to read more...

 

[Voight]

Lakers did a 3 peat and also had arguably 2 of the biggest stars in the world.

Heat had the best player of hie era, plus another top 10 player and a top 15/20 player to top it off. The LeBron factor is the main thing here even tho they went 2-4 and we're utterly embarrassed both times they lost. In short, him being apart of the team is why their titles are glorified (plus B2B).

While SA was consistently great, when you don't win titles in quick succession people seem to forget about them. 1999 is memorable because thats when Duncan truly arrived on the world stage + The Admiral won his 1st.

2014 is memorable because like Duncan 15 years ago, this was Kawhi arriving on the world stage and breaking out into an elite player. Plus the fact that they lost to the same team the year before and then won in 5.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

Millenial Spurs fans have got to be the most spoiled fans in American sports to this day. It's like they were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. 5 championships, always making the playoffs, 45+ wins every year (mostly 50+). This year looks to be the end of any of that. Spurs fans need to face a minimum of 5 years of suckage so they can get a taste of that humble pie.

 

[HisIceness]

The Spurs never had much of a national appeal, and they were always criticized for being "boring". When I was growing up there were not many kids wearing Spurs jerseys. Shaq/Kobe/LeBron/Garnett/Vince Carter/Iverson and D-Wade jerseys were all the rage. Even the Suns with Steve Nash and Amare had more appeal.

Internationally this is a different story, but in the states the Spurs outside San Antonio, and I guess Austin and Corpus Christi, never really got a fanbase going, and the ratings showed.

 

[tony d]

They had quite the run though. I compare their run to that of the New Jersey Devils of the mid to late 90s and early 2000s.

 

[Voight]

They had quite the run though. I compare their run to that of the New Jersey Devils of the mid to late 90s and early 2000s.

Devils had an 8 year run.

Spurs had a 19 year run if you count from their first title winning year to Kawhi's last (full) year - where they made it to the WCF.

Closest comparable is the current Patriots.

 

[Jack Straw]

Devils had an 8 year run.

Spurs had a 19 year run if you count from their first title winning year to Kawhi's last (full) year - where they made it to the WCF.

Closest comparable is the current Patriots.

And both the Pats and the Spurs have arguably the best coaches in the history of their respective sports.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

And both the Pats and the Spurs have arguably the best coaches in the history of their respective sports.

Ummm, no.

Red Auerbach then Phil Jackson are miles ahead

 

[Power Man]

Millenial Spurs fans have got to be the most spoiled fans in American sports to this day. It's like they were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. 5 championships, always making the playoffs, 45+ wins every year (mostly 50+). This year looks to be the end of any of that. Spurs fans need to face a minimum of 5 years of suckage so they can get a taste of that humble pie.

Spurs fan here, before we drafted Duncan; all my friends were rooting for the flavor of the moment or were player fans

It was an amazing run

It's hard to say which title was the most satisfying tbh

1999 : it's the 1st one so it's awesome

2003 : maybe not our most mature championship team but we were too talented to not win the title that year; finally beating the Lakers was such a great feeling; we didn't make it easy on ourselves during those playoffs; a lot of big leads that we choked or almost choked away; rookie Manu was amazing off the bench, Kerr and Stephen Jackson made HUGE shots for us.

And of course Duncan was just out of this World that year

2005 : Perfect blend of talent and maturity; long haired Manu was just fun fun fun fun to watch.
Strong defensive team.
I remember the day before game 5 vs the Pistons I told one my friends, a Pistons fan - that game 5 would nbe a close game (unlike games 3 and 4) and that Horry would hit the game winning 3.

And it actually happened LMAOOOOO, you shouls have seen his face

2007 : a bit underwhelming because the SPurs-Suns series were actually the real Finals
The Jazz and Cavs series were anti-climatic lol

2014 : 2013 was so hard to swallow because I never thought we would go back to the Finals ever again during the Tim Duncan era but we did and almost won the title but alas, Ray Allen happened; and despite the devastating game 6 loss, we almost won game 7.....
Fast forward one year and we're back for the rematch; Duncan stating that we would win it this time after clinching the WCF gave me chills
Demolishing Miami with that beautiful passing and Manu with the exlamation dunk on Allen and Bosh (Allen hit that 3 in game 6 and Bosh blocked Green seconds later) was just sweeeeet revenge

 

[Power Man]

Ummm, no.

Red Auerbach then Phil Jackson are miles ahead

I would have loved to see Jackson actually build something
Oh wait he couldn't

 

[dahrougem2]

Ummm, no.

Red Auerbach then Phil Jackson are miles ahead

Phil Jackson is not miles ahead of Greg Popovich lmao

 

[Morozov]

I do think they were a bit taken for granted because they've been so good for so long that it was just normal that the Spurs would do the things they were doing. And as others touched on, they weren't a team with highlight reel, must watch superstar talents. Not saying that someone like Duncan wasn't a superstar, but it wasn't like damn I need to tune in to see what Duncan might do.

 

[Voight]

Phil Jackson is not miles ahead of Greg Popovich lmao

I think 1 & 2 are Pop + P-Jax, up to personal opinion who you pick first.

I do think they were a bit taken for granted because they've been so good for so long that it was just normal that the Spurs would do the things they were doing. And as others touched on, they weren't a team with highlight reel, must watch superstar talents. Not saying that someone like Duncan wasn't a superstar, but it wasn't like damn I need to tune in to see what Duncan might do.

I find his MVPs to be somewhat underrated/forgotten..... he was just so good at all facets of the game that you can't think of a single game or stat from those years that stood out.

Plus his were sandwiched between AI & KG, two guys who carried their teams to remarkable heights. So they got a lot more attention than he did.

 

[Morozov]

He really personifies those Spurs teams and unsurprisingly in some ways suffers the same way in that you just took for granted how good he was. He was just always there, being great, all the time. But his personality, and game meant that never really got shoved in your face. Had he been the type to be throwing down flashy dunks or beating his chest at every opportunity then that may have been different. Not that those things really matter in terms of on court performance.

 

[Mickey Marner]

The only blight on their CV is never repeating.

 

[Maestro84]

Millenial Spurs fans have got to be the most spoiled fans in American sports to this day. It's like they were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. 5 championships, always making the playoffs, 45+ wins every year (mostly 50+). This year looks to be the end of any of that. Spurs fans need to face a minimum of 5 years of suckage so they can get a taste of that humble pie.

Millennial Boston sports fans are the most spoiled fans (they either weren't born or old enough to experience the worst of droughts the city had)

 

[Maestro84]

I'll be the elephant in the room and say the truth: they were boring and I mean they were hella boring; don't believe me? Check the ratings for the 2003, 05 and 07 finals, the year's SA won the title.

Looking back though, they were very underappreciated. Pop is the GOAT coach while Duncan is the GOAT PF and imo, the GOAT of his generation, and the rest of their core team was developed through a great coaching/training system which spanned over 20 years.

They also didn't "buy" their titles by stacking up their teams with all the big names the way the likes of Miami and LA have done. And in a way, it made them less of a topic of discussion for the talking heads and fans.

 

[AngloHab]

.

 

[Cassano]

Thats too bad for those that didn't tune in - the 2005 finals was the best I've ever seen. A really exciting, back and forth series that went all the way down to the wire in game 7. Two great teams, two great coaches.

As for them being boring I don't get that either - I would say that Manu Ginobili was amongst the most exciting, unpredictable players in the NBA throughout his career. He would drive to the basket with no regard for his body contorting it in mid air, absorbing contact and still managing to score. Tony Parker was also very fun to watch - loved his midrange game - the pull up jumper, the floaters.

It's funny that the Spurs got this rap for being boring because for me they were 10 x more entertaining than 2019 NBA which is just a 3 point contest with minimal defence. The obsession with the 3 point shot has pretty much made basketball unwatchable.

This is probably my favorite basketball video of all time.

 

[Jack Straw]

I'll be the elephant in the room and say the truth: they were boring and I mean they were hella boring; don't believe me? Check the ratings for the 2003, 05 and 07 finals, the year's SA won the title.

Looking back though, they were very underappreciated. Pop is the GOAT coach while Duncan is the GOAT PF and imo, the GOAT of his generation, and the rest of their core team was developed through a great coaching/training system which spanned over 20 years.

They also didn't "buy" their titles by stacking up their teams with all the big names the way the likes of Miami and LA have done. And in a way, it made them less of a topic of discussion for the talking heads and fans.

I can see why they wouldn't draw big numbers in the ratings, they didn't have the kind of star power that would attract the casual fans. But they played a beautiful brand of basketball- unselfish, great ball movement, great defense. I loved watching those teams.